Donald Angus Collection of Botanical Prints

About the Collection

Donald AngusDonald Angus has a passion for learning, and an eye for beauty. He was born in Honolulu in 1908, and raised in the beautiful valley of Nuuanu. As a young man he left the islands and went to London, where he pursued his education in the libraries, archives and museums. He read everything he could find on the Hawaiian Islands and the Pacific, and carefully copied unique manuscripts that he discovered. From material found in London book shops and sale bins, he began to collect botanical illustrations. These colorful hand-painted prints must have transformed a dreary London day, and filled it with memories of the color and fragrances of island gardens. Angus has generously donated botanical prints to a number of institutions in Hawai'i, noting, "People should be able to come and see it all and use it. That's what makes it valuable. Education is supposed to do more than just teach us a set of facts. It should teach us how to learn."

Digitization Procedures

Prints were scanned on a standard flatbed scanner in 2005. Images were contrast enhanced and color saturation increased. Text descriptions were scanned from photocopies, some with handwritten annotations.